Mother's Day

So I realize that it has been 3 months since I posted anything.  I just haven't been very good about taking pictures lately and there is a lot to catch up on.  I actually haven't downloaded pictures from my camera since that last post about Gabe's birthday party!  I am going to jump ahead to Mother's Day and I will go back and fill in the blank later.

I am a mother.  I have two young kids who I am lucky to get to stay home and take care of.  Some days I don't feel so lucky.  Some days my children scream at me, what seems like 90% of the time.  Some days they tell me that they hate me, that they wish they had a different mommy, or that they are going to "find" a better mommy.  It is times like these I wish I worked full time and could scoot them off to a sitter or have a sitter come in and take care of the tantrums and fits.

All mothers know that there are hard days.  Just like in any job.  There are days you want to throw in the towel and say I give in.  You win.  I just am not cut out for this. 

Just like any other job I have co-workers.  My number one co-worker is my husband.  He is almost always Employee of the Month.  On those hard days I can call him and talk through my discouragements and frustrations.  On those days he tells me that I am doing a great job.  He tells me that the world really isn't coming to an end.  He lets me know that even if Gabe didn't get into the school I wanted him to, Kindergarten will still be a good experience.  He tells me I am beautiful, awesome, and amazing.  He never fails to tell me that he loves me.  He spent hours helping me build my chicken coop, that he swore he wasn't going to touch and swore would be my responsibility.  He is the best partner for me.

As wonderful as my husband is, Mother's Day in the past has not always been what I expected or hoped for.  There have been many years when his plans and my expectation haven't exactly lined up.  Now, don't get me wrong, he has tried, he really has.

This year I wanted there to be no misunderstandings, or disappointments.  I took him to the grocery store with the kids.  While I collected groceries I sent him to pick out a card.  I planned a breakfast that I could put together the night before and all he needed to do was put it in the oven Sunday morning.  I picked up a small bunch of flowers at Winco and put them in a vase.  I picked up a few gifts for myself as well.

When my sister saw that I had planned everything out for Mother's Day for myself she told me I was a control freak.  I simply explained to her that  I am not a control freak I just wanted a Mother's Day that we could all enjoy.  A Mother's day that is relaxed and fun with no hurt feelings, no disappointments.

Let me tell you, this Mother's Day was one of our best!  We were all relaxed and had fun together.  I was so grateful to be a mother.  I was showered with hugs and kisses from my kids.  I heard "I love you mom." consistently throughout the day.  Breakfast was delicious.  Everything turned out great.

I am grateful to be a mom.  I am grateful that I have 2 (mostly) wonderful kids who love me, even when they are telling me that they hate me.  I am grateful to have a wonderful man by my side through it all.  I am grateful to have a wonderful mother who raised me and taught me all I know about mothering.  I am grateful to have "co-workers" in this job of raising children.  I am grateful to be a mother.

  

Spiderman Party!

For Gabe's birthday party we had a Spiderman theme. All of the kids got a Spiderman mask as they came in and we watched an episode of Spiderman and friends. We then played musical chairs with some spiderwebs I printed out and played the Spiderman theme song as the kids went around. We used sticky hands as "webs" to catch balloons with candy inside. Then we read a Spiderman story and opened presents. We had cake and ice cream. For his cupcakes I used a Red Velvet cake mix and a white cake mix that I added blue food coloring to and swirled them together. I piped some chocolate spiderwebs to put on top. I think they turned out really cute. After cake and ice cream we played duck, duck, goose. Instead of duck, duck, goose we said Spiderman, Spiderman, Green Goblin. And a round of Spiderman says (Simon Says). I think that everyone had a good time. We had a total of 12 kids including ours and I was a little worried going in to it but it turned out great!

How strong are you?

Today I was showing off my muscles (or lack thereof) to my kids. Gabe said, "daddy is stronger. Yep, that is because boys are suppose to protect the girls.". Now if he would only put that into practice when it comes to his little sister!

Gabe's Birthday

Gabe being a starfish

For Gabe's Birthday we went to the aquarium. It was the first time that we have been and both kids had a lot of fun. They loved feeding the fish and being able to touch all of the fun creatures. That night we went to Red Robin again. He had a GREAT day!

Birthday Week

Since the kids birthdays are 6 days apart we usually have a combined party with extended family. These kids are spoiled rotten and both of them got a haul this year.

Lydia's Birthday

Lydia turned 3 last week! Every year for their birthdays I make the kids special birthday shirts with their age on them. Lydia chose to go to Red Robin for her birthday dinner. This year I also decided to knit winter hats for both kids. Lydia picked out the purple yarn. On her birthday it snowed here. A LOT! The kids went sledding that afternoon. I still can't believe she is 3!

Our First and Only Snow

The week after Christmas one morning we woke up to a little bit of the white powdery stuff. It was such a small amount but Lydia still loved getting all bundled up and helping Daddy shovel.